“At the end of the day, all that we have is our people…we have people, and we have a reputation.”
These are the words that David Glinka, Partner of Assurance Services at Ernst & Young used to describe his firm at the Fairfield Accounting Club meeting.
Glinka visited Fairfield to speak to students about what they need to know about going into the business world, and what they should have accumulated in college in their “tool chest of abilities”, as he puts it.
Ernst & Young is one of the “Big Four” professional service firms in the world, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, and Deloitte. Ernst & Young does assurance, taxes, transactions, and advisory services. They have 152,000 people working for the company, and more than 695 offices in 140 countries.
Glinka explained that although Ernst & Young has an estimated revenue of $22.9 billion at the end of 2011, the firm is also an advocate to giving back to the communities.
The employees have certain days where they don’t come into the office to work. Rather, they help at a soup kitchen, pick up trash in a park, or teach a high school class.
David Glinka graduated from Lehigh University. He then worked for Arthur Anderson. After the closing of Arthur Anderson in 2002, he started his job at Ernst & Young. He has also been teaching auditing at Fairfield for about five years.
He said that never knew how to answer the typical “where do you see yourself in 10 years” question. Glinka told the students that initially have long-term goals. He feels that life is more about learning and gaining opportunities, rather than having a plan for the rest of his life.
Glinka also does recruiting for Fairfield for Ernst & Young. He told students that there is not a perfect blueprint of a person that the firm is looking for. An interviewer is looking to have a deep conversation with a candidate, not just to ask them why they want to be at this specific firm.
People with integrity, who excel, who work well in teams, who are filled with enthusiasm, who have the courage to lead, thrive on a challenge, and meet technical requirements are qualified candidates for a firm such as Ernst & Young, according to Glinka.
Paige Canavan ‘14, a student in the Dolan Business School, said that Glinka “communicated in a way that students of all levels could understand.”
Glinka gave advice to students to “bring passion to the work force”. He said there is nothing worse than seeing an employee lose the excitement of their job. Glinka also made sure to say that this quality is not just for the business world. All students should be prepared to be passionate in whatever field they choose to go into.
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